The cityArchitectural landscape

Trains

GRAND PARIS STATIONS / ARCHITECTURE

FROM REGIONS TO NETWORK Like the themes and variations of a melody, the overall network conveys a completely cohesive identity; each station remains a singular project whilst bearing a resemblance to all the others. The plaza communicates the station’s presence and organises

connections with other urban transport options, including the tramway, bus, bicycles, etc. Whilst the treatment of public space remains specific to each environment, certain elements can be used across all stations to signify the train’s presence in the city.

Spaces dedicated to foot traffic make it easier to get around, to board and to disembark quickly and easily. Like a golden thread, these spaces are made up of intuitive pathways from the city to the platforms. An ensemble of architectural features, notably concerning volume and light, make it possible to create a soothing atmosphere in which it is easy to get one’s bearings.

Welcome areas are clearly indicated and easy to identify from outside the station. This area regroups useful information on transport and city, ticket sales, and a listing of local amenities (businesses and services). A centrally located presentation of resources will be found in every station in order to facilitate travel.

The platform is dedicated to boarding the trains: it constitutes the first or the last step of any passage through a train station. The platform environment is similar from one station to the next: Spatial organisation, light treatments, materials, furnishings and informational tools make it possible to create continuity and coherence among all the stations.

Urban stationsEach station is an individual project that reflects the identity of the area served and is adapted to the specificities of each location. The intent is to anchor each station within its area whilst connecting it with other stations and creating a broad dialogue – that of travelling by train – with the world around it, specifically with the city and all of its resources. To achieve this, the Société du Grand Paris called upon various teams of architects to pilot station design within multidisciplinary project management groups. These teams, who will work with local authorities, have a unifying, structuring role for each station plan and they play an essential part in their urban integration.

Travelling

Most of the stations in the Grand Paris network are linked to pre-existing over ground tracks, so transferring from one line to another should be easy and efficient. Transfers from the Grand Paris network to the metro or the RER and Transilien regional rail networks are well thought-out and fluid. The treatment of architectural volume, lighting schemes and signage makes it easier for travellers to get where they want to go quickly.

The emergence is the doorway to the network. Its shape varies depending on the urban context, creates a dialogue and signals its function as a public facility. In a majority of cases, it is comprised of a building bearing the network’s visual identity, with an urban design, height and signage: the building is set back from the street and indicates the station name, directional signage, etc.

All the stations will share some common architectural features. Jacques Ferrier, architectural consultant for Grand Paris stations, has proposed a recurring theme for the conception of all the stations in the Grand Paris network. This theme aims to define common areas that are practical, calm and comfortable though a series of features that would be replicated in all stations: these include thematic ambiances, a palette of materials, types of furnishings and optimised layouts in terms of light, acoustics, etc. These elements focus on appealing to the senses in order to facilitate travel and make getting from the city to the train as fluid as possible.

SPACE FOR CIRCULATION

TRANSFERS

THE PLAZA

THE EMERGENCE

WELCOME AREAS

THE PLATFORM

User-friendly stations

A guideline to serve and foster architectural creationJacques Ferrier’s proposed architectural guideline for Grand Paris stations is a tool designer to facilitate their conception and guarantee the architectural quality of all the stations on the network. This architectural guideline meets many objectives. Firstly, it seeks to ensure that stations across the network will be coherent and controlled in terms of design, budget and scheduled service deadlines. Secondly, concerning functionality and usage, this charter aims to propose a unified system that can be implemented across stations to optimise visibility and reliability for travellers. It facilitates the use of space, accessibility and efficiency of foot traffic pathways. It transforms stations in to spaces that are calm and easy to navigate. In terms of visual identity, the guideline defines an image that is specific to the Grand Paris stations while ensuring continuity with the long-established identities of the Parisian metro system and the RER urban transport network.

Grand Paris Stations Architecture

STATION ESSENTIALS No. 3

To support the ambition of favouring urban development and lending structure to new communities, the architecture of the Grand Paris stations is designed to signify the metro’s presence in the city while offering travellers common areas that are both practical and pleasant.

A quick architectural survey of train and subway stations around the world reveals great diversity in design concepts for new transport networks. In Bilbao, Spain, and Washington, D.C., the design of all stations across the network was entrusted to a single architect, and the result is that the only difference between stations is the name that appears on its signage. This standardised approach contrasts sharply in comparison to other networks, like the ones in Singapore or Munich, Germany, which are distinctive for their diversity of architecture and design across stations on a single line.

The Société du Grand Paris has chosen an architectural strategy that combines these two approaches, in an effort to satisfy all the issues involved in building the Grand Paris Express network:

Urban issues: each station is designed as a specific answer to its geographical, urban, social and economic context. Its architectural shape creates a dialogue between the station and its surroundings so that the transport environment can exist harmoniously within its neighbourhood.

Transport and network issues: the efficiency of an urban transport network depends on standards of service. These standards make it possible to create a space that is more user-friendly for travellers, to offer consistent solutions for technical, security and maintenance requirements; and to incorporate these stations into the Grand Paris transport network.

Consequently, the architectural design of Grand Paris stations follows a dual design concept, one that is transversal and local, with the aim of building stations that are at once practical, welcoming and integrated into their neighbourhoods.

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for all 57 stations on the Grand Paris network

GRAND PARIS STATIONS / ARCHITECTURE

Station essentials and further informationwww.societedugrandparis.fr

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Pictured:

1. Westfriedhof in Munich – Designer: Ingo Mauer.

2. Stratford in London – Architect: Wilkinson Eyre

3. St Quirin Platz in Munich – Architect: Hermann + Ottl

4. Shibuya in Tokyo (Fukutoshin line) – Architect: Tadao Ando

A SPECIFIC APPROACH FOR THE KEY STATIONS ON THE NETWORK

Many rail networks around the world, such as the ones in Singapore, London and Tokyo, chose to reserve certain architectural treatments to certain stations. In this sprit, the Société du Grand Paris wished to initiate specific consulta-tions with architectural project managers for the design and conception of those stations that are important in terms of daily frequentation rates and those positioned on the intersection of future strategic locations for the city which are key to tomorrow’s urban development projects.

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Stadium in Singapore.WOHA Architects